November 2009 the state-of-the-art Endoalpha operating room was formally opened at the the Edinburgh Royal infirmary where pioneering keyhole surgery, in which surgeons perform an operation through tiny incisions on the body, will take place.

The theatre will cater for some of the most complex medical operations and is expected to speed up procedures. The facility will also allow video conferences in which operations are broadcast anywhere in the world, allowing trainee surgeons to learn new techniques.

Yesterday, Simon Paterson-Brown, NHS Lothian's top surgeon, who was involved in the design of the theatre, said the facility would transform healthcare in Scotland, records the Scotsman.com

Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) report and recommendations  find major concerns over cleanliness and hygiene with four out of nine wards being found to be dirty, will offset much of the lauded high technology that is available.

Patients comments on the Royal Infirmary have often been far from glowing, and the Herald reports that the PFI deal for Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, with Consort Healthcare, has been the subject of considerable scrutiny since it was signed. Cost £184m within six months of the official opening in May 2003, Edinburgh City Council had launched an inquiry covering financial issues, bed shortages and power cuts.

Now HEI has set out what needs to be done to bring the sparkle back to Infirmary technology.